Once upon a time then a student in Mexico, I lay dying from an abscess of pathologic amoebas (not the ones you look at in elementary school) in my liver. I was in great pain and VERY toxic. I was diagnosed in a few hours of the onset of symptoms and treated with two drugs- emetine and what was then a new drug called metronidazole (Flagyl)- a drug not yet approved in the United States at that time. The combination of drugs and prompt diagnosis saved my life.

Most people with this infection do not have symptoms. If symptoms occur, they are seen 7 to 10 days after being exposed to the parasite.

There was a small study of patients with hypertension (high blood pressure) who belong to a genotype found in 10% of the world population- many of whom are from Northern China (20%) and Mexico (32%). In a small but well done study their blood pressures were reduced with a small dose of Vitamin B2 (Riboflavin). The drop could be enough on its own, but it could bring blood pressures into the normal range with medications where before it was difficult to get enough control. First, it may be worth discussing this with your health care provider. If you are having trouble controlling your blood pressure with medications, there are MANY possible reasons, but a trial of B2 (remember small dose or through your diet) is not unreasonable to see if it helps.

Remember, you truly have little or no idea what your actual gene pool is.

Thank God for the internet. A note on a Rhode Island grocer’s shelf has gone viral, informing consumers everywhere that the popular“natural” cereal brand Kashi actually contains genetically engineered grains. This is important because the product claims to be “natural” (which is why many consumers buy it) and we are learning just what “natural” means- NOTHING!!!!!!!!!!

I did a show a while ago on GMO’s (Genetically Modified Organisms). The modifications, for example, in the case of soy beans used in Kashi, is genetically engineered to withstand the pesticide Roundup so that the crops are little affected by insects. Genetically engineered food products have not met the rigor of safety testing. Several tests have shown what may be a change in YOUR genetics as a result of consuming GMO foods. The FDA has sold out to the agricultural lobby which is exceptionally powerful. What this will mean for future generations or for that matter what eating this stuff will do to you is anyone’s guess. By the way, there is no requirement that food labels advise you that they are made with GMO’s !!!!!!!! BUT,there is a way to be sure that you are eating GMO free food and I will tell you that in a moment.

A study with azithromycin (you all know the famous Z Pak or one of the brand names Zithromax) showed a slightly higher rate of death among adult patients taking the drug compared to those on other antibiotics. (There have been other studies suggesting dangers to children as well by the way.)

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA said it was aware of the study, which was published in the New England Journal of Medicine, comparing Zithromax to Bayer's Cipro and Johnson & Johnson's Levaquin.(Neither of these drugs are without serious side effects as well by the way.) Pfizer's Zithromax showed a slightly higher rate of death due to heart complications- sudden death that may be associated with an altered heart rhythm.

Reparative therapy is a psychologic therapy to "help" gay men "unlearn" the bad habits that have violated the "rules of God". Much of what this crazy therapy is, is based on a study of "sissy" men done in the 70’s at Columbia University. You can read the researcher’s most recent comments below. I do not understand the genesis of homosexuality, but, to make gay men (and women) suffer through a process to "unlearn" their sexual preference is absurd! Most gay men and women (heterosexual men and women as well) that I speak to will explain they did not choose their sexual preferences. Several of my friends who are gay men in very high professional positions have admitted to me on more than one occasion that being gay would NOT have been their "choice" were they to have had the option because of all the pain and ostracism they have had to endure in their lifetimes. By the way, one of my gay friends (a wonderful person and an ophthalmologist at Albert Einstein College of Medicine/Montefiore Hospital) attended to my wife’s cornea just before our wedding which had been traumatized by a strip of metal. Each day he saw her and attended to her eye so that Janet and I could walk down the aisle without her wearing an eye patch and bandage around her head. Each day he talked to us and reassured us. He never discussed his own needs, you see, he had AIDS and he died before he could see us wed! I must ask you: What are we making such a big deal about? Why are we soooo primitive? I judge people by their integrity, intellect, compassion for others, respect for God, respect for the law and their commitment to those that they love and who love them. Why should I worry or even think about who is their preferred sexual partner? We have come not very far. Oh, by the way, when I hear that homosexuality is against God, when did YOU speak to the Lord last? Can I have his/her telephone number? I have a few questions I need answered!